New Thundercats
by Clayton Overstreet
Summary: Thousands of years after the events on Third Earth a new group of heroes must take up the fight against an ancient evil... whether they want to or not.


Technically I own everything in this story except the Thundercats characters themselves. Otherwise this would be a TV series. But until someone who can help me in that area decides to this gets classified as fan fiction. So feel free to write your own stories basedon these characters. Just give me some credit when you do okay?

The New Thundercats #1: Thundercats are loose

By, Clayton Overstreet

Thousands of years ago on the planet known as Third Earth a great battle between the forces of good and evil finally ended. But at a great cost. What was once a world with thousands of creatures living on it had been wiped clean of life and was now a barren wasteland. All that remained above and below the surface was the crumbles ruin of what had once been a huge pyramid. And inside only one room still had four walls.

Four figures stood by a huge stone block that had been put in place. On the floor were the shattered remains of what had once been a mighty sword. It had been broken before, but this time there would be no way to fix it. Bending down one of the figures picked up the round red stone with a cat's eye-like marking on it. Lifting up the golden clawed glove he pushed the eye against it. After a moment the stone sank into the metal of the back. Then nearly indestructible wires shot our of the knuckles and wrapped tightly around the block.

"He wanted it," the figure said, slipping his hand out of the glove he moved away and turned to the others. "Now he's got it." Long red hair blew in the breeze.

The bald form next to him nodded. "But for how long?" He picked up a child-sized form from the ground. It was broken and battered. Another form, about the same size as this one was crying, but she bent to pick up the red furred animal that was lying not too far away. The first figure bent and picked up the last body, long blond spotted hair falling around the body's shoulders.

The last person there offered to help carry her but was waved off. He nodded sadly. "So what can we do? Our ships were destroyed. There's no food or even water anywhere left on the planet. And no way to call for help."

"We leave. I don't care where we go, but we are not dying in here."

"He'll get out eventually. We need to prepare. We may not have what we need to leave or survive, but we can leave a warning. And maybe a little help."

The smallest one looked up at the sky. It was quickly filling with dust. "We had better hurry or there won't even be that." They turned and walked away, in some cases limping along.

When they were gone something crawled out of the rubble and walked on its three remaining legs towards the stone block. But before it could touch it a loud roar and red light came from the stone attached to the front. The creature whimpered and backed away. Briefly it scanned the area for help, but the pool that had once swirled with evil potions was cracked and empty and the statues were broken. There was nothing left. It briefly considered following after the others and seeking revenge for its master, but it knew they were doomed already. So instead it limped into a corner and lay down. If nothing else this creature knew patience and loyalty to its master. It would wait forever if need be.

Now

Humanity had reached the stars at last. They had perfected the ability to terraform a world to make it livable and they had come upon a perfect candidate. The world was the third one that they had decided to name after their home planet of Earth, so it was called Earth 3.0. Had they any clue about the world's history they probably would have found that funny. But a lot of alien species named their planets after elements and many worlds of land-based species translated into the word "Earth" in some form or another.

The Relic Company made its money by terraforming planets and selling them off to private concerns. They had found the planet and been amazed that there was not life on it already. Then after they set about getting it ready for colonization they had found ruins that told of several very advanced alien civilizations. Now scientists from around the galaxy had flocked to investigate while the Relic Company established its rights to anything found.

George Relic the current CEO was an old man, but had long ago given up everything in his quest for more money. He was currently overseeing the excavation of the planet. Once the scientists were finished and he was sure there was nothing else he could squeeze out of it he was going to sell the place for as much as he could so he was also promoting it. He had just invited the intergalactic Olympic running champion Cherry Light to shoot a commercial promoting the fresh air and healthy atmosphere. Looking out at the fresh green grass and trees that stretched across whole continents George smiled at a job well done. Even he could appreciate the beauty of this as yet unspoiled land.

"Sir, over here," Kyle Walker called. The old man frowned and turned to look. Kyle and his team, Jacob Oliver, Frank Canis, and Hugh Raptor were leading him to their latest find. Walker was the type of slime ball that probably made his way through school and the professional world by stealing other people's work and ideas. His people were little more than thugs. But Relic liked hiring men like that. Men whose loyalty you could buy were useful.

"This had better be worth my time Walker," the old man snarled. "Dr. Jaeger just unearthed what they think is a time capsule several miles from here."

"That's nothing sir. We think we've found something amazing." He nodded to Hugh who hurried up, his shiny bald head shining in the daylight. Oliver chuckled a little. He was a hairy guy and he knew Hugh was sensitive about that. Canis stayed in the back, not taking sides with either of them. He was the type that stuck with whoever could hurt him the most.

Relic examined the computer screen. It showed a scan of the mill in front of him. Under the dirt were a lot of stone blocks and several rooms. "What is it?"

"We think it was a pyramid," Kyle said happily. "And inside we've found a stone block. Scans show some kind of man shaped hollow thing inside, like a sarcophagus. And we also found this wrapped around the block." He reached into the bag at his side and pulled out a golden glove shaped like a cat's claw. On the back a red stone with a slit seemed to stare at him. Something about it made the old man shudder. "If these people, whatever they were, are anything like the Egyptians we could be looking at a huge treasure."

"Or a curse," Hugh said, earning a glare from the other men. "Just kidding."

Relic nodded and said, "How long until we can open it?"

"A day or two at the most. The remains of the building held up remarkably well. It looks like it was damaged intentionally and never actually wore out. Our tests indicate that it may have been around long before whatever it was that wiped out the life on this planet." Kyle smiled lopsidedly showing off his sharp back teeth. "Maybe it's where they kept whatever weapon did it."

Relic stiffened. A weapon that could wipe out life on a planet. Combine that with his ability to create it and the old man got a shiver down his spine. The next best thing to being a god. "Walker, I want to be there when you open it. Tomorrow."

Kyle flinched, but ducked his head low. "Yes sir."

"In the meantime send this thing along to the lab," Relic said hefting the glove. "I want it catalogued thoroughly as mine before any government officials show up. It'll give Jaeger something else to keep him occupied."

Tyrone, a large black man, made his way casually through the lab at the landing base. He was dressed as a janitor which allowed him complete access to the whole facility. A plus when you were there to steal anything valuable. He had been hired by a few of Relic's competitors to see if the old man had found anything they could use on this alien rock. Especially anything that looked like new or advanced technology.

In the meantime he played the part of big dumb guy.

A door opened to the side with a hiss and three kids came running out. Two of them, about twelve years old, were throwing water balloons at a fifteen year old.

"Stop it! Hey guys this isn't-" The kid was cut off by a balloon to the face.

Tyrone reached out and casually lifted the smaller two off the ground. "You kids know better than to do that inside."

"If we don't cheat," Caleb Willy said. "Then Leo always wins."

"Yeah," his twin sister said. "Besides…" She smiled at the dripping boy. "Leo looks cute in wet clothes."

Leo Jaeger, grandson of Dr. Felix Jaegar, and his foster siblings the Willy twins were the only children on the planet. So nobody blamed them for getting a little out of hand occasionally. After Leo's parents had died Felix had adopted the kids so his grandson would have someone to play with. Leo looked up at Tyrone, wringing out his wet clothes and said, "Five me five minutes to run for it."

"Thirty seconds," Tyrone said. The twins grinned evilly. Leo knew he was not joking and turned to run. Looking at the kids in his hands Tyrone said, "Now no more goofing off inside. I have to clean this place up you know."

"Okay," the twins said.

Another door opened and Dr. Jaegar looked out. "Ah Tyrone, I need your help for a bit. If you have time."

Setting the kids down he watched them run off before saying, "Sure Doc, what do you need?"

"I unlocked the time capsule we found, but the lid is heavy. I need some help lifting it up."

"On it." They headed into the lab.

On the floor was a large box encrusted with a covering of dirt and rocks. Parts had been chipped away revealing gleaming metal and the edge of what might be some kind of symbol. But that was under the dirt. For now they just wanted to get the box open.

"It's in such good condition and was so deep in the caves that it had to have been left there for a purpose," Felix said.

"Whatever you say Doc," Tyrone said, feigning disinterest. He took one side and the doctor took the other. There was a seam that was open, but like the man had said it looked like the lid was pretty heavy. "On the count. One… two… three!" They lifted. There was a hiss of pressurized air escaping and suddenly the room was full of dust. They dropped the lid to the side. While the doctor turned, eyes watering, to cough to the side, Tyrone slipped his hand into the box before the dust cleared. Something round and attached to something else filled his palm and he quickly pocketed it, then turned and coughed loudly himself. This was possibly the easiest job of his career. There was very little security on the planet since everyone there worked for Relic.

Felix had cleared his eyes and bent over the box, looking inside. "I think… they're weapons of some kind."

"Weapons?"

He pulled out a small golden stick and a then jumped as what looked like a solid piece extended between the ceiling and the floor, punching through them with ease. "Whoa…" He let go and it dropped back into the box.

Tyrone peeked over the edge. Inside were what did look like a couple of weapons. One looked like a pair of red and blue numb chucks, the tips ending in claws. The other was the gold stick the professor had just dropped. And there was a pair of leather bags and a couple of silver things that looked like surfboards. As they watched the boards rose a few inches off the bottom of the box, floating there.

"Amazing," the doctor said. He pointed to the chucks. "See that claw-like pattern? It's similar to an artifact one of the other teams sent in…" He ran to a cabinet and pulled out a cat-like claw made of the same gold substance as the poll. "I'm certain of it. These are related. Only instead of the cat's eye symbol on this claw there seems to be a cat's head. It looks so familiar…"

Tyrone carefully slipped out of the room as the doctor studied the artifacts. He calmly made his way to a nearby closet and put his equipment away before heading to his own room. Once there he finally got a good look at the thing he had stolen.

At first you would think it was a mace. A small stick with three red balls at the end. But as he looked it over the balls suddenly fell to the floor, training the base behind them like a whip. "Neat." Playfully he flicked it. To his surprise the whip moved like it had a mind of its own and wrapped around him. "Hey!"

Tugging he tried pulling it off but that just made it tighter. Then he saw a flash of light and looked around panicked. It only took a moment for the thief to notice his mirror. In it the room was reflected back… and nothing else. "Oh my." Moving slowly, afraid that the whip would keep tightening, he went over and touched the glass. When he did he let go of the whip and suddenly he was there and it fell to the ground, back in its original shape and his reflection reappeared in the glass.

"My bosses are going to love you," he said, bending down to pick it up. "Of course, that's if I decide to hand it over."

Cherry Light and her trainer Pan Fang, the former female Japanese running champion, were practicing on their private track. Cherry was seventeen and well built, but most of that was taped down. Her head was covered in a white ninja-like hood to reduce wind resistance. She was the fastest human woman in the universe. In the galactic Olympics they took species into account for time and everyone said she was a sure thing this year.

Provided she kept training, her coach said. The well muscled Asian woman in sweats holding a stop watch was a monster. She built special equipment just for Cherry to practice on. Pan was about thirty five and looked okay herself, but a little past bulky. Cherry hoped she would never lose her feminine shape like Pan had, but was willing to if it meant being a champion.

"One your mark, get set, go!" Pan shouted and Cherry took off. But she only got a few steps before a water balloon hit her in the face. Jerking to a stop, almost falling, she sputtered and looked around until she saw a red haired boy getting high fives from two brown haired twins.

"Told you I could hit her," he said smugly.

Cherry glared at him. "I'll get you for that."

"Cherry we do not have time for-" Pan began, but then shrugged as Cherry took off after the boy. "Oh well, at least she's running."

Leo had no chance of escaping until Cherry felt her legs catch on something. As she fell she looked down and saw that both twins had stuck out their feet to trip her. Cherry fell with experience, rolling and coming back up almost instantly. The twins shared a look and took off too, following after Leo.

The entire group had arrived at the door leading inside when Leo's grandfather opened it and was suddenly buried in children. "Ah!" It took him a moment to get what was going on and by then everyone was climbing off of him. The old man laughed, pulling on his white beard. "I suppose it serves me right for not watching where everyone else was going."

"Sorry grandpa," Leo said. He looked nervously at Cherry, but her anger had worn off. She just rolled her eyes and pulled off her hood, letting her long hair fall around her shoulders. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the male twin looking at her in her skin tight white running suit. Behind them Pan came running up.

"I'm sorry doctor. I didn't-"

Felix waved her off and stood up. "It's fine. I actually came to ask everyone if they wanted to see what we found. I think it's some new kind of technology."

"Uh, sure," Cherry said. She looked at Pan. "Can we?"

"I suppose," she said. "I'd say training is already done for the day. You're just not in the right frame of mind." She looked at the kids. "Maybe to help you learn to focus we can have them throw balloons at you every time."

Waving for them to follow the doctor led the way inside.

Meanwhile back at the pyramid Relic and his people wandered inside. His hands trailed on the cool walls. "It's like the stones absorb heat."

"We think they do," Kyle said.

Inside the dark room was lit by lights the team had put in place themselves. The stone block had been opened and the simple black sarcophagus stood exposed in the middle of the room. Relic held a small computer in his hand.

"The computer should finish decoding some of the writing we found on the walls soon. In the mean time we're ready to open the coffin," Hugh said.

Relic nodded and walked up to it. "How does it open?" Reaching out he felt around until he found a seem. Putting the computer into his pocket he began pulling. The others moved to help him and slowly, with the sound of scraping stone, the thing opened.

"Well that's disappointing," Canis muttered. There were some yellow bandages and a few bones lying in the bottom.

"At least we'll know what these people look like," Oliver said. "Once the computers examine the DNA."

Relic glared at Kyle Walker. "This is what I came here for?"

"I'm sure there will be something in one of the other chambers," Kyle said. "Look, I mean it is clearly a burial chamber right?"

Relic was not so sure. Still there was always the chance and he had gotten a charge out of opening the tomb. "I suppose… what is that? Who let a dog in here?" The four other men turned and saw something on four legs hobble out of the shadows. It did look like a dog. But it was blue and had bone protrusions at points around its skin. "What the-" Without warning the "dog' leapt with a growl. The men scattered, but they were not the target. It hit Relic in the chest, forcing him into the coffin. "You lousy mutt!" He heard something scrape. "Oh no!" The sarcophagus closed on him.

Tyrone had been in the middle of using his new toy to try to steal the other artifacts. He had not expected Felix back so soon. Let alone with company. Cursing under his breath he made his way into an out of the way corner, watching as Jaeger showed off his new prizes. Apparently he had already come up with several theories and was expounding on all of them as he handed each of them out to the people in the room.

"Be careful. They all seem to react partially to pressure and somewhat to your thoughts. It's amazing technology. I'd swear whoever designed this managed to somehow compact the molecules so that they could expand in size without gaining or losing mass."

Pan swung the numb chucks around with expect precision. "Interesting. The chain lengthens and shortens and I think the claws on the ends seem to do something too."

"Right," Jaegar said happily. "I've put the symbols on them into the computer. They do not match any language that humans are familiar with, but the computer did come across a modern equivalent in some alien databases. It seems that travelers from Thundara, thousands of years ago, may have visited this planet."

"Thundara?" Leo asked. He was trying on the glove. Next to him Kirsten was looking into one of the bags while Caleb tried to stand up on one of the floating boards and fell. Despite the fact that it looked like solid gold when he moved his hand the glove moved its claws with him. Reaching out he grabbed the table with it and was surprised as the claws slashed through the metal with ease and a loud squeal that made everyone wince.

Cherry reached over with the rod in her hand and smacked him on the head. "Knock it off."

"Thundara is one of those planets that we only have second hand information on. They're on a whole different side of the galaxy from us." He walked over to a computer and began reading things off. "The large symbol on the boards and the box is the Eye of Thundara. According to a bunch of legends it was meant as a symbol of protection."

Leo shrugged. Every planet had its own mythology. Looking at the glove he said, "Grandpa there's something written on this."

"I know. The computer is still decoding it." They all jumped suddenly and turned to look at Kirsten. She was looking sheepish and showed off the rainbow balls inside the bag. "It's a flash bomb I think. One fell." She blinked. "Hey, more appeared inside! That's cool! I wonder what the blue ones do-"

Pan put her hand over the top of the bag. "I think it's time you put that away."

"She's got a point Kirsten," Jaeger said. "I think-" The computer beeped. "the translations are in!"

Inside the sarcophagus Relic was amazingly calm. There was time to get him out before he ran out of air. Of course that was provided whatever that dog thing was had left anyone behind to help him. But Relic was an old man and after the first moment of panic he had gotten himself under control.

Holding up his hand held computer he used the light of the screen to look around. There was not much room in here. And his feet were making crunching sounds on the bones and wrappings at his feet. "This is by far the most disgusting thing that has ever happened to me."

Outside the four men stared at the dog-thing in front of the coffin. It sat there eyeing them and every time they started to move forward it would growl.

"What do we do?" Oliver asked.

Kyle shrugged. "I don't know."

Raptor said, "The computer is saying the words in its collar say Ma-Mutt, whatever that means."

Canis said, "Well we have to get him out of there. He pays us. Maybe we should go get help…" They paused. Around them things began moving. The lights flashed once and then went out leaving them in dark. But slowly the air filled with an eerie green glow. "What's going on?"

"How should I know?" Kyle asked. In the light the stones started moving. Slowly the walls spread out and as if they were living things the rocks moved over one another slowly rebuilding the room and the strange statues around them. Something purple began bubbling out of the crack in the empty pool in the middle of the room and the cracks itself was slowly sealing shut. "Okay, that's just weird."

Inside the sarcophagus the hand held had decoded some words on the inside of the thing's door. Relic hoped they were instructions on opening it. It was getting hard to breathe and he was starting to panic again. To focus himself he read the words out loud, even though they seemed useless. Maybe it was some kind of password. "Ancient Spirits of Evil, transform this decayed form to Mumm-Ra, the ever living…"

Suddenly the walls around him were glowing. "What the… ah!" Looking down he saw the wrappings slithering up his legs like snaked, wrapping lightly around him.

Canis pointed at the suddenly glowing man-shape in the middle of the room. It pulsed with power and seemed to shake the room with every flash. Then it stopped. To their horror the dog moved aside and the sarcophagus opened. Inside they could see something step out. It stood tall and muscular with blue skin a flowing red cape like the wings of a bat behind it. On its head was a helmet and on its chest was a red circle with a symbol similar to a black snake with a head at each end.

In a cracked dry voice the thing laughed. "Hahahaha!" The men cowered in front of it. The dog walked up and whimpered pitifully. The giant blue monster smiled with a mouth full of sharp teeth and glowing red eyes. "Ah, Ma-Mutt, my faithful servant." He looked at the men.

"Who… who are you?" Kyle asked, his voice shaking. "Where's Mr. Relic?"

"I am Mumm-Ra, the ever living! But you… you and all of your kind may call me master!" Mumm-Ra extended a hand at them. The men flinched back even though it was empty. The purple pool to the side was bubbling. Above them the completed statues eyes glowed and from down the hall they could still hear moving stones as the pyramid rebuilt itself.

The men suddenly screamed as red light shot out of Mumm-Ra's hands, hitting them and driving them back like a sledgehammer. The men screamed in pain and fell screaming to the floor. As they did their bodies twisted and changed, mutating.

Outside the pyramid finished building itself and thunder and lightning began flashing from the tip. The world shook. And the same red light shot out, covering the planet. Trees began to twist. Animals, imported and grown as part of the colonizing process mutated as well. And as for the human population…

The ground shook startling everyone. Pan looked at Jaegar, "What was that?" As one the group put the alien weapons down and ran for the door. Tyrone, after they had left and he had some thought, slipped his whip into his pocket and followed them.

Outside the sky had changed color and the world had gone mad. A man was being chased by things out of nightmares. Strange creatures that looked like they were half human and half animal. There were ape-men, dog-men, lizard-men, and people with heads that looked like vultures.

"What the-" Tyrone said behind the group.

Off to the side they saw one of the mutants chasing down a normal human. When the thing's claws touched the victim the woman screamed and then flashed red. A moment later she stood, her skin transformed into green scales. Slime dripped from her mouth.

Then several of the mutants noticed them. In a low voice Cherry said, "Okay, everybody back inside." They hurried into the door and slammed it shut.

Jaeger shouted, "Computer lock the door. Priority one!" The locked engaged just as the first monsters slammed into it. They all backed up.

"Doc, what is going on?" Tyrone asked.

"I have no clue."

Caleb was holding his sister and crying. Kirsten pet his head telling him to calm down. "It'll be okay…"

Pan looked at Jaeger. "Are there any weapons?" The building shook. The window on the door shattered.

"No, this is a research center! We don't even have guards…" Not that it would matter if they had. "All the defensive systems are up in space."

The door began to buckle. The group turned and ran, automatically heading for the lab they had come from. Inside Tyrone led as they pushed the box back up against the door to barricade it. A moment later it began to rattle. "We are so dead."

"No we're not," Kirsten said. "We're going to find some way out of this."

"How?" Her brother asked.

Leo ran over and picked up the glove, putting it on his hand. "Let's see how these work."

"Against those?" his grandfather asked.

Leo glared at him. "You have a better idea?"

Since he didn't Felix picked up a laser drill that he had used to open the box. Then he noticed Tyrone holding something. "That looks like…" He looked up at the man.

Tyrone shrugged. "I'm an industrial spy. Can we discuss it later?"

Jaeger frowned, but the door shook again. Metal bent under mutating claws. The others just shrugged it off. None of them really cared and had more pressing matters to deal with. They just grabbed the weapons they had been playing with before and stood back to back.

"Next time we do a commercial we stay home and let them fix it with computers," Cherry growled to her coach.

Pan nodded. "Oh yeah."

Leo ran to the computer and began pulling up the file. "Darn it!"

"What?" Everyone cried at once.

"It's just two words. Thunder-" He paused. On his arm the stone moved. At least the slit opened wider. "Thunder?" The slit opened again. "Thunder!" Suddenly instead of a slit was the same Eye of Thundara Symbol he had seen before. He looked at the screen and read the rest of the words. "Thundercats ho!"

The room filled with red light and on the ceiling light a spotlight was the same cathead symbol. But despite the way it shone the image was not reversed. If the humans in the room were in any condition to notice they would have wondered about that.

Instead they had dropped to their knees, hands pressed to their ears and their teeth clenched. The sound was deafening and painful. At least they thought it was the sound causing them pain. But then they felt their own skin twitching and moving on its own. Opening their eyes everyone stared around as the changes began to take place.

First all their ears became pointed, like elves. A thin layer of fur sprouted on all of them like velvet. Leo, the Willy twins, and his grandfathers were varying shades of tan. Their hair stood up. Leo's flowed behind his head in some kind of red lion's mane. Kirsten's turned red and stuck up with a black stripe in it like the Bride of Frankenstein. Caleb and Tyrone's spread out going off either side of their heads. Caleb's remained brown with new streaks of orange and white looking similar to a bobcat. Tyrone's fur and hair turned red-orange with black stripes and a white belly like a tiger. Cherry's fur was orange and white making mask-like marks on her eyes. Her blond hair turned more of a gold color with black spots. Pan's skin became covered with a sheen of blue-black fur like a panther. Jaeger's hair stayed white.

Then they all grew fangs and claws, their hands feet and faces twisting in pain as their bones rearranged themselves. Their eyes flashed in a yellow glow and as one they raised their heads and roared.

Leo looked at the glowing stone on his wrist. He tried pulling the glove off, but found that it was stuck tight. Not too surprising. The thing had changed shape. Around the stone was something like the hilt of a sword and from the wrist it had grown a long silvery blade. "Grandpa…" He growled.

"It got us," Jaeger said. "Whatever it was that got them we're…"

"No, I don't think so," Kirsten said. "I feel… weird. But when those things caught one another out there they seemed to… change inside too and started attacking other people. Do you feel like doing that?" Around the room everyone shook their heads. She blinked and looked down at her pouch. "Hey, I… I think I know what these do now. The red ones are flash bombs. The green are pepper pellets. And the blue ones are glue."

Her brother nodded. "That sounds right… the yellow are stink bombs and th black are smoke. The purple ones are poison." He jumped up on the silver board floating in the air in front of him. "Hey! I can ride it now!" He stood on his flawlessly without it wobbling at all.

Tyrone, off to the side, was swinging the whip around like a lasso. "Cool."

Cherry and Pan shared a look. But before they could say anything the door began shaking again with renewed energy. A second later the thing fell, pushing the box back. The first two mutants through the door got a chuck and a pole end between the eyes, knocking them back out into their friends. Cherry smiled and said, "Neat."

But more were coming in. Almost without thinking the other cat-people moved forward to attack. It was a slaughter. For the mutants.

Pan hit then with the chucks and her fists. Either way it was like being hit with a hammer. Bones broke and bodies flew around the room. And she was not breaking a sweat.

Tyrone lashed out with his whip, the balls at the end cracking skulls and the whip itself strangling up to a dozen mutants at a time and twisting in the air at odd angles. Meanwhile he ran between the zigzagging whip like an expert and delivered strategic punches and kicks. He vanished and reappeared like a strobe light. One after another the monsters fell to him.

Leo slashed out with the claws and sword, occasionally using his off hand to backhand one of the mutants. He back flipped out of range of their claws like a gymnast. And around him the others worked together like they had been doing it their whole lives. Up above on the boards Kirsten and Caleb dropped seemingly limitless supplies of pepper and glue pellets, occasionally sending some more along with flash bombs out into the hallway. Each one incapacitated a target and made them easy prey for the others.

Leo did not see Cherry anywhere, but then he noticed flashes of gold light circling the room. He and everyone else stopped moving and stared as the light flashed from enemy to enemy. There were loud thumps and then the mutants fell down with bruises forming everywhere. Suddenly the light stopped and they could see Cherry herself. In her hand the staff grew and twisted out into the hall. They heard some more bodies fall.

"Holy…" Pan said in shock.

"Why were you guys just standing there like statues?" Cherry asked. "It was like everyone just froze."

"It wasn't us," Leo said. "You were moving too fast to even really see."

"I was?" She looked down at herself. Despite all the running she had done she was not even breathing hard. "It's weird. I think I can only do it for as long as I can hold my breath. After that everything sped up again."

"Probably because you were moving too fast to catch the air," Kirsten guessed.

"Whatever," Tyrone said. "Listen!" Their ears all perked up. "I don't hear anything."

"There's only about fifty people in this camp," Jaeger said, "Including us. Nobody else around for miles."

"Want to bet on that Doc?" Tyrone asked. Jaeger shook his hear. "Grrrrrrreat!" He said the word rolling strangely in his mouth. "Then may I suggest that we get out of here before more of them show up?"

"Where?"

"How about a spaceship?" he paused. "Hey kid, what are you doing?"

Leo ignored him. Bending down he noticed one of the mutants was not quite unconscious. "What do you want?"

It tried to raise a claw. But it was too hurt to move. Instead it hissed through its reptilian lips, "They Eye. Mumm-Ra commands. Seize the Eye of Thundara."

"Mumm-Ra?" Leo asked. But the thing had succumbed to its wounds. He looked at the glove on his wrist. "It must mean this."

"Then maybe we should give it to them," Cherry said,

Tyrone shook his head. "No way."

"Why not?"

"Hello? Whatever this Mumm-Ra thing is it apparently did this to people." He waved at the mutants. "And it wants that? Something tells me it does more than turn people into animals."

"And besides," Kirsten said, "Those monsters did not seem like they were interested in politely asking us for it. Whatever Mumm-Ra is, I don't want to see what it does when it gets whatever it's after."

"You sure?" her brother asked.

Pan nodded. "You're right." She licked her lips, feeling the fur there under her tongue. "Okay, maybe we should head to the ships."

"No," Jaeger said. He was at his computer.

Leo looked over. "Grandpa, what are you doing?"

"Taking control of the satellite defense grid. I'm broadcasting a message and programming them to turn around."

"What for?" Tyrone asked.

Jaeger hit a final button. Outside there came the sound of a massive explosion. "Quarantine."

"What?" Tyrone moved forward, grabbing the old man by his shirt.

Jaeger did not flinch. "We've been infected by something." He pushed Tyrone away. "Whether what happened to us is the same thing that happened to the others does not matter. You saw what they did to that lady outside. One touch and she turned into one of them. What happens if more people show up?"

Tyrone took a deep breath, growling in his throat. "I don't care."

"Well it doesn't matter. Every spaceship on this planet has been targeted. A warning has been issued. And besides, it's a two year trip to get here from the closest human system. We are officially cut off."

Caleb's eyes widened. "We're trapped here? With these things?"

Leo put a hand on his shoulder. "He had to do it Caleb."

"But…" He looked at the glove. "Maybe if we give it to them they'll leave us alone."

"Maybe we should destroy it before they get here," Pan said.

Leo shook his head. "I have three major problems with either of those ideas. One, we don't know what this thing is. Even if we can destroy it for all we know it could kill us anyway. Heck, for all we know this is what wiped out the planet the last time."

"Good point," his grandfather said.

"Second," Leo said. "Kirsten had a point." The girl beamed at him. "Whatever did this if it gets what it wants I'll just bet we won't like what happens." The others all nodded, but still looked scared.

"What's the other reason?" Cherry asked.

He smiled a little. "I tried getting it off already. The thing's stuck on my arm." He held out the claw. At some point the eye had closed again and the sword parts had vanished. They moved forward and each tried pulling on it. But no matter what they did the claw remained firmly attached.

Jaeger looked at Tyrone. "So are you with us?"

The tiger-man ran his claws over his head and sighed. "Like I have a choice." He nodded at the mutants. "I'm certainly not with them."

"So what do we do now?" Kirsten asked.

Tyrone said, "First rule of being on the run. Never stay where they know you've been." He jerked his thumb to the door. "These guys all thought the same way. Chances are that whatever is controlling them might be telepathic. I say we grab a transport and head someplace safe to think about this."

"Where?" Pan asked.

Jaeger said, "How about the cave I found the time capsule in? There might be something there that I did not find."

Tyrone nodded. "I don't have a better idea." Nobody else did either. They split up to gather supplies and met back at the nearest hover car outside. Cherry was in the driver's seat, having got there first.

Mumm-Ra roared in frustration. He had been watching the attack, but then his pool's ability to see had been blocked by the Eye of Thundara. "No!"

"Master," Kyle said, already bent in half by his new reptilian form. "What do we do now?"

"Now… now we find them. You will send your mutants out to hunt them down. I will search my own way." He spread his arms and the cape moved like real wings. He rose up into the dark of the pyramid.

"So what do we do?" Canis asked, his voice like a dog's whimper.

"We do what he says."

"What? Forever?" Oliver asked.

Kyle looked at his new four fingered hand. "Yeah, I kind of think so." The mutants turned and hobbled out of the pyramid.

In the cave they did not find much at first except the hole the boy had been in. After an hour they had decided to give up for the moment and have dinner. Jaeger had grabbed a food replicator. A good thing too. The few fruit trees that they had seen on the way had not looked edible. But the scientist had taken some samples and was studying them in portable lab.

"I think this effect can be repaired. At least on the plants. A simple retrovirus… shouldn't take more than a month to make."

"Like we have a month," Tyrone muttered. "You know I came down here for a simple job. Get the goods, get paid, and get out."

"Well you got the goods alright," Pan said and flicked his ear.

Caleb said, "So you really didn't like us?"

"I didn't say that." Tyrone said. "I just had a different job than you all thought I did."

Off to the side Kirsten saw Leo staring at the glove on his arm. She walked over to him. "You alright?"

"I think so," he said. "But this thing is creeping me out. I think it's alive."

"Really?"

"Just a feeling I have." He wiggled his fingers and held it up to look closely. "I just wish I could see something to help…" He tilted his head.

"What?" She asked.

"I don't know. I just… it's a feeling. Like when we were fighting." He held the glove up to his face. "Give me sight beyond sight."

"Whoa!" The hilt part of the sword had grown out of the glove again. Now she could see his eyes glowing again. "Guys!" The others came running.

"Leo, what are you doing?" Jaeger asked.

"It's like… like a camera. Moving all over the planet. It's weird. Some of the places did not change like the rest. It still looks normal. There are still some people there. And I see a huge pyramid… it's rising out of the ground. Everything around it is even weirder than what we'd seen before."

"A blast radius?" His grandfather guessed. Nobody questioned what he was telling them. Too many strange things had happened already. "What else?"

"I can see the monsters. I think… they're tracking us. It's like they're sniffing the air. And they're coming close."

"Oh god, we're dead," Caleb said.

"Wait… there's something else. It's flying. It's not like the others. It looks like some kind of evil Egyptian Smurf vampire thing… it's leading them this way!"

"That must be Mumm-Ra." Tyrone said. The others looked at him. "Come on, the only one that's different?"

"We have to get out of here," Kirsten said.

"We're surrounded," Leo said. "No way… wait. I see something!" He lowered his hand and the hilt sank back into the glove. Leo ran for the cave and the others followed. When he reached the back he placed his hand against the wall. Suddenly the rock vanished, replaced by the Eye of Thundara Symbol.

"Welcome Lord Liono," a computerized voice said. But none of them understood the language. Suddenly the wall split open. They all shared a look and then quickly went inside. Behind them the door closed and the rock wall reappeared.

Outside the came the mutants swarmed. But when they arrived the cave was apparently empty. Mumm-Ra followed some of them inside, looked around suspiciously, and then turned. "Keep searching! Don't stop until you find them." Then he took flight again.

Inside the cave it was like a spaceship. Buttons were labeled, but all in the strange language that had been on the glove. Lights came on automatically. Not that it mattered. They could all see pretty well in the dark now.

Suddenly in the middle of the room a table rose up. Then a see-through creature with red and yellow fur that looked like a cross between a cat and a lizard appeared. "Snarf! Snarf!" It spoke in a strange langue that none of them understood.

"Any idea what it's saying Doc?" Tyrone asked.

"Why do you keep asking me?"

Leo said, "You're the smartest one here grandpa."

"And you're the one who trapped us here," Cherry added.

Suddenly the thing spoke in English. "Language downloaded. My what primitive computers you have. Snarf."

"You speak English!" Caleb said.

The hologram smiled. "I do now. Snarf snarf. I am this ship's computer. I am based on a friend of the Thundercats named Snarf."

:"Who are the Thundercats?"

"Elite warriors of Thundara. They first landed on Third Earth after being attacked by mutants. They included Lord Liono, the kittens Wily Kit and Wily Kat, Tigra, Cheetara and Panthro. Liono's capsule was damaged and he was prematurely aged while asleep. There was another member of the original team, but Jaga died saving the others, though that did not stop him from assisting later."

"What, like a ghost?" Jaeger asked in disbelief. Pan reached over and slapped him. "Oh, right. Magic works. Deal with it."

"What is Mumm-Ra?" Leo asked.

"Mumm-Ra was a creature living here and the Thundercats greatest enemy. It was an ancient sorcerer whose goal was to take the Eye of Thundara and it's limited powers so that he could conquer the rest of the universe. My files on Mumm-Ra and his activities are extensive."

"This thing? Is this what he's after" Leo asked raising the glove.

"Yes," Snarf said. "Am I to understand Mumm-Ra has returned again?"

"You'd better believe it," Tyrone said.

"What is this place?" Cherry asked.

"After they left Third Earth and returned to New Thundara Mumm-Ra followed the Thundercats and continued to attempt to destroy them. In the end the Thundercats decided to lead him back here, away from their people. And they defeated him. In his last moments Mumm-Ra released all of his power and wiped out every other living thing on the surface of this planet. In the fight he also killed several of the Thundercats.

"Mumm-Ra had come back from the dead several times. So after they used the eye to seal him up the Thundercats used their last few days and what remained of their technology to build a lair. Not as good as their old one, but sufficient hopeful for a base for anyone should Mumm-Ra rise again."

"What, you expect us to fight him?" Caleb asked.

Snarf shrugged. "You see anybody else lining up for the job? Snarf." He nodded to the weapons in their hands. "Each of the Thundercats had special abilities. Liono, transferred them into their weapons and designed them to react with the Eye of Thundara if they were ever found. Hopefully by people who would help." Snarf lowered his head. "It was all they could do. Stranded on this dead world with no food."

They stood silently for a moment. Then Kirsten asked, "You said Mumm-Ra killed everything on the surface. Did anything survive?"

"Before he died Liono was contacted by a few remaining Robearburbles…" An image replaced Snarf. It looked like a robotic teddy bear that had most of its fur removed. "They helped him set this place up. Apparently some of them had survived under ground. But since they were cybernetic they had survived longer than everything else, but they still needed food of a kind. By now they are all probably dead."

Kirsten sagged in disappointment. "Dang."

"You think you're disappointed?" Snarf asked. "You should have seen this planet before Mumm-Ra killed it. There were hundreds of kind of intelligent life. Magic and beauty and evil like you've never imagined. Things even the Thundercats barely understood." On the holographic projector images flashed. It was beautiful.

"So if magic is real," Jaeger said. "Then why was Mumm-Ra the only survivor?"

"He was already dead," Snarf said. "Before many of the denizens of Third Earth helped to protect this world from his evil. There was even another pyramid." He paused. "It's possible that it is still standing. But after so long in the wasteland all artifacts from Third Earth are probably buried."

"But they're here?" Jaeger asked. "If we can find them there may be something we can use to fight Mumm-Ra?"

"Possibly."

Cherry said, "Then all we have to do is…"

"Wait," Leo said. "What about the other people?"

"There are others on the planet?" Snarf asked.

Leo nodded. "I saw them with the Eye."

"Then they may be outside of Mumm-Ra's power. In the past except for his last spell he had a limit he could not push. Maybe half the planet. And even then most of his spells eventually wore off."

"So we can't leave them out there. They're probably wondering why our side has lost contact," Leo said.

"But what can we do?" Caleb asked.

"The Thundercats beat Mumm-Ra before. I bet we can do it too. And maybe find a way to keep him dead this time," Leo said confidently.

Snarf put in, "This facility is outfitted with training equipment to help you learn."

Pan looked up. "What kind of equipment?"

"What kind do you want?"

Tyrone shrugged. "So what? We're trapped her and outnumbered. I don't think those mutants are going to wait around while we get up to snuff."

"This base is capable of movement and heavy defense. The Thundercats' shield kept most of Mumm-Ra's attacks ay bay for years.."

"Really?" They looked around. "How?"

The mutants were searching and backtracking, but there was no sign of the escapees anywhere. They were preparing to leave when the ground began to heave. Rocks were shoved up into the air. Then it split open and a giant cat rose up out of the ground. It was a giant robot shaped like a cat, gleaming in the light. It was huge and according the Snarf's files it was mostly built from their old lair. Only now it was mobile.

The robot ran past them, only deviating from its course to occasionally bring its claws down on an occasional group. It ran fast and through the mutated forest, crushing trees and rocks as it went and shaking the ground.

Something passed in front of it and the robot pulled up short. The group came out and stood in its mouth, which had been serving as the cave they had first entered.

The being Leo had described flew there in front of them. "So it seems I am not the only one to come back from the dead." He eyed them. "Though Liono, it seems you've lost some weight." He extended his hand. "Give me the Eye of Thundara boy, and I will allow you to live."

"Not a chance Mumm-Ra," Leo said. "We know all about you."

"Then die!" From his extended hand a hurricane developed. The Lair's shields came up, but the eyes were covered in rock and dirt still and it took a moment for them to break free. In that moment the entire group was taken out and scattered into the sky. Mumm-Ra laughed as they flew in different directions.

Leo landed on his feet. In the distance he could see the Lair rising up above the trees. He started to move towards it when the mutants appeared. Followed quickly by Mumm-Ra. He stood back and smiled nastily. "Kill him."

Leo barely had time to react. He just lashed out with his claws. There were hundreds of them. In his mind he tried to remember how many people had been brought to the planet. Thousands of scientists. And more than that to handle the heavy lifting, cleaning, cooking, and gods knew what else. Maybe a million people total. And more than half of them had been on the same side of the planet.

Leo was getting tired and the mutants were not slowing down. He was stronger and faster than any of them, but they outnumbered him enough that he could fight them for days and not get them all. And there stood Mumm-Ra standing there confident that the boy would fail.

Leo looked at the claw. Mumm-Ra wanted it for its power. That meant it was stronger than him. Unfortunately according to Snarf even Liono barely knew how to use it. "Help me!"

The Eye opened and suddenly Leo was jerked up into the air. He was actually flying. Looking down he saw the mutants crawling over one another, trying to pile up after him. He also saw Mumm-Ra tense, readying to fly up after him. He only had a few seconds.

Well, he could try getting help. "Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thundercats ho!" The Eye reacted like before shooting the beam high up into the sky. But it also shot down and slammed into the mutants and Mumm-Ra, pushing them down into the ground. Also Leo noticed that the trees were changing, becoming more like the normal Earth ones. All around the roar filled the air.

Kirsten and Caleb looked up a6t the sky, their eyes flashing. Without thinking they hopped onto their hover boards and started flying. A mile away Pan and Tyrone did the same, running through the trees towards the Eye of Thundara. In another direction Cherry started running, Leo's grandfather on her back, through a frozen world. She had to stop to breathe ever now and again and time came rushing back when she did but she reached Leo first. The others were not far behind.

They came on the mutants from several different directions and tore through them like they were nothing. Monsters went flying and they kept moving forward. None of them could resist the call.

Leo saw his friends coming and smiled. He had backup now. "Come on, let's get him." Understanding the claw and it's reformed sword took aim at Mumm-Ra. Then he flew through the air like a bullet. He landed on the ground, but Mumm-Ra managed to dodge. Leo swung the sword up and managed to nick his cape.

"You pitiful fake! You aren't even close to Liono."

Leo picked up a handful of dirt and threw it in Mumm-Ra's wide red eyes making him blink. "Right. I cheat." He jumped forward and the sword hit the mummy-man in the gut. It pierced him easily, like cutting through paper. He reached down to rip it away, but then Leo saw him reflected in the golden gauntlet. He did not look powerful. He looked like an old man wrapped in bandages. "Mr. Relic?"

Mumm-Ra turned away and pulled himself off the blade, covering his face. "Stay away!"

Leo felt something tickle his mind. "That's why you sent the mutants. You've got a weakness." He held up the gauntlet. Mumm-Ra was reflected in it. Slowly the blue fiend began to shrink and scream, backing away from the glove's shiny surface.

"This isn't over Thundercats! I will have the eye!' And then in a flash of light he vanished.

Their leader gone, the remaining mutants turned and rushed blindly into the forest, leaving the cat-people standing around in surprise. Tyrone looked at Leo, "What happened?"

Looking at his glove the boy said, "I think we just got our first real break."

Cherry said, " I don't want to be a downer, but maybe we should head back to the heavily armored giant robot before something else attacks us."

"Right," the others agreed.

As they walked Kirsten stood on her tip toes and kissed Leo on the cheek. "You were so cool."

Back in the pyramid Mumm-Ra leaned against his mystic pool. Ma-Mutt whined next to him and was ignored. "Curse those blasted Thundercats. They still plague me to this day."

"Master, we have more bad news," Kyle said.

Mumm-Ra sighed, used to his minions failing him. "What?"

"It seems they've somehow managed to blow up every spaceship on the planet. We're trapped here. My guess is they took over the planet's defense system."

Mumm-Ra waved him back. Kyle did so, moving quickly away in fear. The pool bubbled and Mumm-Ra's face changed, becoming that of George Relic again. In the pool a man's face appeared. "Mr. Relic. Good to hear from you sir. We had a distressing message come in earlier and…"

"I know all about it Bill," he said. "Look, we had an incident. It turns out that some of our people are terrorists. I think they're separatists, trying to get control of this planet for themselves."

"Are you okay sir?"

"For now. But we need help. Immediately. And I want you to bring weapons. Whatever you can get your hands on. And as many people as possible." He smiled. "I want off this planet and I want those people dead. They've stolen something very precious from me. But they're very good. So send me only the best."

"Yes sir," he paused. "But it takes two years just to get there…"

"Not to worry," Relic said. "I will shortly be sending you designs for some new technology the likes of which you've never seen before. Once you have it you should be here within four months."

"Four months? Amazing! But what about the meantime?"

"I'll think of something," Relic said. "Just get here." He waved his hand, cutting off the "transmission" and returned to his true form. He looked at Kyle. Take your mutants and watch the Thundercats. I am weak and need to rest."

"Yes my lord," Kyle said quickly. Mumm-Ra turned and hobbled into his sarcophagus. Ma-Mutt followed him inside. It closed behind them. After a moment Kyle turned and walked away.

Later on The New Thundercats:

The New Thundercats take up their position as protectors. Deep beneath the planet's surface they find that some things may have survived Mumm-Ra's attack. But whether they are friend or foe is up for grabs. With only four months to go before Mumm-Ra's reinforcements arrive and the Thundercats unaware of the deadline will they succeed or will Mumm-Ra finally take possession of the Eye of Thundara? And from off planet come other threats. Tyrone's bosses have heard about how he has apparenlty joined a group of radical seperatists who have stolen advanced technology from Relic. So now they have reported him to the authorities and Manhunter Mandara is on her way to arrest him. And the ruler of Thundara has sensed the return of the Eye and now seeks it out as his rightful property, even if it means removing Leo's arm to get it.

Author's Note

This is something that's been sitting in my head for a while. I do not know if I'll continue it. I want to see what the response is first. Like I said up top if I owned the rights to the Thundercats I'd already be trying to make this into a TV series. Anyway please tell me what you think. And if you like my writing style please check out some of my books available on Amazon. Cast

Thundercats

Cherry Light = Cheetara

Kirsten and Caleb Willy = Wily Kit and Kat

Leo Jaeger = Liono

Dr. Felix Jaeger =Jaga

Pan Fang = Panthro

Tyrone = Tigra

Snarf

Villains

Mr. George Relic = Mumm-Ra

Kyle Walker = Slithe

Jacob Oliver = Monkian

Hugh Raptor = Vultureman

Frank Canis = Jackalman

Ma-Mutt


End file.
